Reflection for the Solemnity of Brotherly Love 2023

‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

Thank you for joining today as we continue our journey focused on listening to, obeying, and witnessing to Jesus.

Our Holy Church drives this listening, obeying, and witnessing home in very particular ways through special Solemnities celebrated throughout the year.

Today listening, obeying, and witnessing is stressed through our call to love. This Solemnity of Brotherly Love was instituted a long time ago, in 1923, when members of our Church were persecuted for their faith.

Yes, our people faced a hatred that resulted in beatings, firings from jobs, homes being foreclosed on, and even murder. 

They, the Church, decided they would not respond in-kind, they would not fight back with fists and clubs, but would focus themselves on Jesus’ teaching on love toward all.

Was that the past? It seems many have not listened to Jesus: ‘Go and do likewise.’ 

Love is harder to find, hate is far easier to see. Sometimes alleged Christians are right up front in fermenting something quite different from Brotherly Love. Let’s use a real-life example. Perhaps you have seen Deuteronomy 28:43-44 quoted in social media: Aliens residing among you shall ascend above you higher and higher, while you shall descend lower and lower. They shall lend to you but you shall not lend to them; they shall be the head and you shall be the tail. Of course, we should fear immigrants.

This scripture was from the listing of curses against Israel if they were unfaithful to God’s law. Everything they would do would fail. They would lose their crops, children, and nation. 

All this was set forth in a ceremony to be performed by the entire nation, so that they would understand the gravity of their choice whether to actually walk in the ways of God.

In the blessings and curses God warns in several places related to foreigners (see Exodus 22:21, and 23:9) and most particularly in Leviticus 19:33-34 “‘When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself.” 

Brotherly love is a choice, an eternal choice. We must choose to stop for the stranger, to love all people totally, or face God’s consequences. What must I do? Love!

Additional Scriptural references:

  • Exodus 22:21
  • Exodus 23:9
  • Leviticus 19:33-34
  • Leviticus 25:23
  • Numbers 15:15
  • Deuteronomy 10:19
  • Deuteronomy 23:7
  • Deuteronomy 24:14
  • Deuteronomy 24:17-22
  • Deuteronomy 27:19
  • Ezekiel 22:7
  • Ezekiel 22:29
  • Ezekiel 47:22
  • Zechariah 7:10
  • Matthew 25:31-46

September 2023 Newsletter – Christian In Every Way

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

At this year’s Central Diocesan Clergy Retreat we were drawn into a deep discussion on living holy and consecrated lives as bishops, priests, and deacons and our obligation to call our people to holy lives. Our retreat master reminded us that our baptism into the Body of Christ, our regeneration, was not a one- and-done event but rather entry into an ongoing process of relationship to Jesus and His Body, the Church. As Christians we need to be constantly becoming.

An important question to ponder over, to reflect on for a holy life, is whether or not we have really united ourselves with Christ Jesus. Is Jesus our center and our all-in-all or does He take a back seat to other priorities? Worse yet, do we put Jesus in the trunk and only fish Him out when we feel we might need Him. I know He’s back there somewhere… maybe under the blankets…? If we are united with Jesus we work daily at our becoming. Jesus is part of our day, minute-by-minute. If that is so:

  • We pray in all things, before we step out the door, cook, drive, go to work and go home, and eat, and we end all tasks with a prayer of thanksgiving. Moreover, we do not hide that fact. We do not make a show of it of course, but neither do we hide our intentionality. Note – it is especially important for our families to see and participate in this prayer.
  • We worship regularly – at a minimum each Sunday.
  • We commit to the work of the Church and our parish by active participation, for the family of God is the best hangout possible.

Jesus has great expectations of us. If we reflect and find ourselves falling short we can start with this question: Can I invite Jesus to come along with me? If I cannot, I need to discover why and then fix that issue. If I can invite Him, why might I not be doing that in each thing.

Mr. Eddie Gibbs wrote a book, In Name Only: Tackling the Problem of Nominal Christianity. Our call is to be more than a person labeled Christian, but to be so in every way.

Welcome to our September 2023 Newsletter. September opens a whole new season in the life of our parish. There are so many great things coming up..

We reflect on this summer’s activities, prepare for Back-To-Church Sunday, honor all workers on Labor Day at Good Shepherd Cemetery, Remember 9-11-01, and continue to look ahead with eager expectation (who knows – you might be a winner in this year’s Vigil Dinner raffle).

Please join us for the Solemnity of Brotherly Love on September 10th — we are the only Church that has a special day set aside to reflect on and reinforce our obligation to love — and remember to invite and bring someone new to church on September 17th.

Check out all that and more in our September 2023 Newsletter.

July/August 2023 Newsletter – On the Faithfulness Track

And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me

Balaam’s ass is one of two animals in the Bible that can speak. She is also one of two who are a blessing to their human companions. I encourage you to read the whole story found in Numbers, Chapters 22 through 24. This story has much to tell us about our walk of faith.

Baalam was a soothsayer or magician. The King of the Moabites had called on Balaam to curse Israel who were coming out of Egypt into his land. At first Balaam would not go, listening to God, but later relented under much pressure. All along God tells Balaam not to go, but he later chooses to go, agreeing to say only what God tells him. Along the journey Balaam’s ass bows humbly and will go no further. Balaam beats the animal three times. Finally the ass speaks and asks Balaam why he has hit her. He gets angrier and tells her he would kill her. Then God opens Balaam’s eyes and he sees the Angel of the Lord with sword drawn standing in the road. The angel tells Balaam: Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.

This is a story of faithfulness and of weakened faith. The Angel (of course) and the ass are absolutely faithful to God, and in terms of the ass, to Balaam. This loyalty failed in Balaam. He chose to neglect God’s command, preferring to try making a deal with God so he could please the King of the Moabites. He also chose to hit his animal. Balaam’s disloyalty causes God to show that He is the One in charge. He can send angels and cause animals to speak. Balaam (and we) are reminded that we must follow God’s instruction. We cannot double-deal. We cannot bargain out of doing as God asks without consequences.

Our walk of faith is to be a life of loyalty to God’s command, His Word Who is Jesus, the Holy Spirit’s work in the Church. Let us not veer!

Welcome to our July/August 2023 Newsletter. We are enjoying the hot summer days and are engaging in many wonderful activities that grow our faith, serve our community, and foster our fellowship as the family of God in Schenectady.

Read a report from the Men’s Spiritual Retreat. Join in the great activities offered for our youth, musicians, and parish. We have replaced our organ – take a look. Our Food Bank partnership is underway and CarePortal is serving those most in need (23 requests met, 67 children served, and an economic impact of over $32,800).

Please join us for our parish/community picnic on the church grounds on Sunday, August 20th after the 10am Holy Mass.

BTW – we still need help in getting our funeral candlesticks refinished. Let Fr. Jim know if you have the skillset to help. 

Check out all that and more in our July/August 2023 Newsletter.

Reflection for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time/Word of God Sunday 2023

Trust!

Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by His life.

Thank you for joining today as we complete this short time wherein we consider the mysteries of God and His action to save us. This includes the Mystery of the Trinity (two Sundays ago), of the Body and Blood of Jesus (from Thursday the 8th through Thursday the 15th), and the power of God’s Word (today).

From June 4th through today each of these topics is put before us, not so we get some academic explanation of them, but so we can learn of God’s awesome love, His desire for us, His self-revelation, and finally His desire that we trust and love Him in return.

Throughout this mini season we have focused on the connection between mystery and trust and how the Christian life must rejoice at God’s revealed mysteries. Trust is key to our relationship with God.

As you well know, our Holy Church has defined the Word of God proclaimed and taught as a sacrament, and our Church sets aside this first Ordinary Sunday after Lent, Passiontide, Easter, Pentecost, and this mini season as Word of God Sunday. We are called as clergy to make extra effort to enshrine and honor God’s word as an expression of what the Word of God means to us.

First, I would like to recommend that you do something special concerning the Word of God at home tonight, whether it is dusting off an unused Bible, or taking up that one you use regularly to share a special verse with the rest of your family. Perhaps you will think of something else beautiful for yourself and your household. Do it.

Beyond that, on this special day, consider the power of God’s Holy Word and how His Word has instructed us, has brought us into intimacy with Himself. That’s what the 12 were sent to proclaim.

The mystery we consider is defined for us in John 1:1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. We are told that Jesus is God’s Word, existing eternally and focused on interacting with us.

Jesus, the Word, is God’s self-revelation. We know God through Jesus. The unknowable, unsearchable mystery of God’s life becomes our possession and in knowing Him we are invited into union with Him. As St. Paul tells us, the Word came at the Father’s command to reconcile us, to save us, because it was impossible to do anything of ourselves.

Paul says: how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by His life. This is not something Jesus once did and left the room. Rather He has left us His word to continue to teach us, to help us strive for full on gospel lives, and ultimately trust in what He taught, all documented in His Holy Word.

April 2023 Newsletter – In All Things New Life

The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one

The short excerpt above is from John 17:22, part of the Last Supper narrative between Jesus and His disciples, near the end of it. Whereas in the other three gospels Jesus actually eats a passover meal before He dies, in John’s gospel He doesn’t. The Last Supper is actually eaten before the beginning of Passover. So, the sequence of events leading up to the actual crucifixion are very different in John’s gospel. John’s gospel account records Jesus’ extended teaching (see John 13– 17). Although John does not retell Jesus giving the bread and the cup and instituting the New Covenant in His blood, the symbols and words used in the Lord’s Supper are abundant in John’s Gospel. While Jesus does not mention the new covenant in His blood in John, He does give the new commandment centered in that covenant (John 13:34), “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

Jesus’ teaching in this narrative are instructive to us as we move through our lives. As on Palm Sunday for Jesus, we experience times of glory and triumph. As on Maundy Thursday evening, we experience times of fellowship and bonding. As on that night and Good Friday we experience times of great sorrow and seeming defeat. Because Jesus fully understood and experienced our human condition, our joys, fellowship, pain and sadness, He wanted us to know what we have in Him.

Easter reminds us of the glory Jesus’ Father gave Him which He has now given us. This not just for the sake of having God’s glory, but so we may be one in that glory.

Easter reminds us of our new life in Jesus. It reminds us as our status as family to God and each other. We have an opportunity each day to live in this new life, so we see even our sufferings and trials in a much different way. They are not permanent. God’s love and life and our fellowship in Him overcomes even death forever. Happy Easter!

Welcome to our April 2023 Newsletter. We begin April in Holy Week and arrive quivckly at the Easter Season, reveling in the joy of Jesus’ resurrection which is also the promise of our resurrection. 

Join us throughout Holy Week and walk with Jesus through His passion, death, and burial so to arrive at His resurrection. One set of events cannot be understood without the other.

Our newsletter contains our full calendar of events, reminders of upcoming events, including the ever popular Basket Social on April 30th.

We look forward to seeing you.

Check out all that and more in our April 2023 Newsletter.

Holy Week and Easter Schedule 2023

The following is our Holy Week and Easter schedule:

  • April 2: Palm Sunday; Traditional Liturgy of the Palms and Holy Mass at 10am. Second Holy Mass at noon.
  • April 3: Holy Monday. Holy Mass at Noon.
  • April 5: Spy Wednesday: Holy Mass at Noon. Private Confessions until 2pm.
  • April 6: Maundy Thursday: Solemn Holy Mass with Reception of Oils, Procession, Reposition, and Striiping of the Altar at 7pm. Church open until 9pm for Private Adoration.
  • April 7: Good Friday: Church Opens at Noon. Last Words at 1pm. Bitter Lamentations/Gorzkie Zale at 2pm. Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified and Opening of the Tomb at 3pm.
  • April 8: Holy Saturday: Liturgy of New Fire, Renewal of Baptismal Vows, and Blessing of Baskets at 10am. Church open until 3pm for basket blessings and private devotion.
  • April 9: Solemnity of the Resurrection (Easter): Traditional Resurrection Liturgy, Procession, and Solemn High Holy Mass at 8am. Second Holy Mass at 10am.

For more information, call the parish at 518-372-1992 or visit our Facebook page.

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Institution 2023

How to Overcome.

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected when received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the invocation of God in prayer.

Thank you for joining as we celebrate this special day in the life of our Church while simultaneously continuing our journey through Lent.

Over the past six weeks (can you believe it has been that long?) we have identified the hot stoves of sin in our lives, those dangers we love to run toward. We have set to work at getting rid of them. Those old, hot, rusty, greasy, ugly things in our lives must go. 

With that in mind, we discussed the tools available to us that help us get rid of those sin problems. They are the same tools Jesus used and exemplified for us: prayer, studying scripture, speaking about the kingdom, fasting, and communing in relationship centered on the Father. 

Seems easy enough until we set to doing them. Once we move toward that way of life, a deeper relationship with God, the Tempter enters., He comes with distractions, easy outs, and an appeal to our baser selves.

If we do stay on track, guess what? We will have the same success Jesus had. But the work toward success will be marked by further challenges, namely the Accuser comes forward with blame, he doesn’t want us to succeed or to understand the goodness and mercy our God provides. It is almost a last-ditch effort to have us abandon hope.

Jesus overcame all things for us, from the dessert to the cross. We were chosen by Him. Because of that, we are on the road to heaven. We can indeed overcome all hardship and opposition from both the Tempter and the Accuser, but we must change our attitudes and perspectives. We must solely focus on Jesus’ grant of hope. It is our guarantee!

One-hundred and twenty-six years ago a group of people facing poverty, prejudice, and every form of human accusation and earthly temptation took a stand and instituted this Holy Church, consistent with the pristine Catholic Church of the first centuries. Their work and effort was not for the purpose of being different in a simply outward manner, but intended to represent a complete change in attitude, and change of view toward the same path the earliest of Christians saw in Jesus’ redemption. They knew to trust, and so we must trust.

St. Paul tells the young bishop Timothy to differentiate rightly. We must, as St. Paul warned, avoid those who would teach falsely, who would urge us to reject God’s good gifts, so that we might clearly perceive and live in them.

Things that are evil, the hot stoves of sin that harm, destroy, hurt, and lessen human dignity cause one to fail in loving God and neighbor (the greatest commandment). Sometimes it can seem obvious, sometimes we just live with sins we have become blind to. 

Let us then focus on what God has created, foremost the salvation given to us in Christ Jesus. Let us focus on being part of Him, grafted onto Him. Let us then focus our efforts, our strengths and even our weaknesses into overcoming sin, our blind spots, and bearing fruit abundantly for God, bringing Him all glory.

February 2023 Newsletter – Prepare, Grow, and Build Like Noah

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. 

The text above is from Hebrews 11:7, wherein the writer is reminding people who knew the Hebrew Scriptures, of Noah’s faithfulness to God’s instruction and the fact that by being faithful he became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 

This year, the Pre-Lenten season begins right on the first Sunday in February, and by the time this two-and-a-half week season passes on we are in Lent. It will go by quickly. This year, let us liken ourselves to Noah. We all know the account found in Genesis Chapter 5 – 9.

Scripture says that Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation and that he walked with God. While this was true of Noah, and because of Noah was also true in his family, the rest of the world was corrupt, violent, and filled with continuous evil (sound familiar?). The question to ask – Am I faithful like Noah, and how will my faithfulness affect this age? Noah certainly did not know what to do with the corruption of his time. While he acted properly, was righteous and blameless, he made no impact on those around him. God had to intervene to change the situation. For us, we live in the light of God’s greatest intervention. Not the flood, but the sending of His Son Jesus. That means we now know what to do and we have the power to do it (no flood needed).

Jesus showed us the way to go. He  gave us the gospel that is life. He enjoined on us the Beatitudes as a way of life along with all the other instruction from the Sermon on the Mount. If we do as Jesus taught, we will deeply impact our time, culture, and the people around us. As with the early Christians, people will be amazed and enter the kingdom. Like Noah, let us use this time to prepare, to grow in faithfulness, to build a way of life consistent with the gospel. Where we have succeeded, let us build further.  Where we have fallen short, let us prepare to fix it now, and fix it this Lent.

Welcome to our February 2023 Newsletter. With the start of February we enter the Pre-Lenten Season of Septuagesima. We engage in preparation for our Lenten journey because by the end of February we will be in Lent. This month and next we engage in the ministry of administration with our annual parish and financial meetings. Our Valentine’s Raffle is underway. SouperBowl Sunday is February 12th – let us give generously to feed those in need locally. We also celebrate Scout Sunday, review the great scholarships we have available, and list some fantastic Youth events/opportunities upcoming. There is a pizza/game night around the corner and the Basket Social is not that far away.

Check out all that and more in our February 2023 Newsletter.

January 2023 Newsletter – Treasure and Gift

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Imagine if you will, an asteroid falls to earth. Upon investigation scientists discover a new element, one unknown throughout history. There is just so much of the element and it is removed and and taken to a lab. The element is found to have a beautiful appearance, an infinite number of valuable uses, and in-and-of-itself is rare. Everyone has heard of the element via the news and social networks and that news causes it to further increase in value. Everyone would love to have it in their possession. With all this going on, people are talking about the new element all-the-time, they are doing all they can to pursue it, and there is no work or sacrifice people would not expend to have it in their possession.

Jesus tells us as recorded in Matthew 6:21 that where a person’s treasure is, so is their heart there.

Eight days ago we recalled the precious gift that came down from heaven, like our imaginary asteroid element one-of-a-kind, filled with light/luminous, rare, and infinitely present and perfect in all situations. That gift is Jesus, God with us, ever present.

Now one thing about our journey through the liturgical year, following in the footsteps of Jesus and the key moments and teachings given to us is how we live because of them. We could consider our experience of Jesus disconnected and one-off, of no more value than perhaps a few hours on a Sunday and a few occasional holidays, but if we see the truth of the treasure we have, its preciousness, we do all we can and even more to fully possess Him. If we do indeed see the value of Jesus and we make His value central in our lives, we will talk about Him all-the-time. We will pursue Him in our reading of Scripture and in times of dedicated prayer. We will count no work or sacrifice too much if we dedicate them to carrying out Jesus’ commands. If Jesus is our treasure then our hearts will be focused on Him alone. Let our continuing celebration of the forty days of Christmas cause us to reflect on the gift we have received and how we treasure it.

Welcome to our January 2023 Newsletter and the ongoing celebration of the Christmas season (all forty days of Christmas which started Christmas Day). As you can imagine, there is tons going on. 

We start by taking a look at all the good we are doing within our community, whether direct assistance to families, empowering the women among us, gathering clothing and food which continues in the SouperBowl of Caring – Let’s Tackle Hunger. There are several events going on including Christmas season gatherings and our hosting of prayer for Christian Unity on Saturday, January 21st at 5pm. It is time to recognize those who have been awarded music scholarships in the past and encourage all to apply for a scholarship. There are plenty of thanks to go around and a schedule of most of this year’s big events.

All that and more in our January 2023 Newsletter.

Holy Name of Jesus’ Christmastime Schedule
  • Wednesday, December 21st, 7:30am: Feast – St. Thomas the Apostle and Rorate Holy Mass – celebrated in candlelight.
  • Saturday, December 24th, 4pm: Vigil of the Nativity. Holy Mass for Children and Youth.
  • Sunday, December 25th, Midnight: Solemnity of the Nativity. Pasterka/Mass of the Shepherds. A High Holy Mass, offered with incense and chanting.
  • Sunday, December 25th, 10am: Holy Mass of Christmas Day.
  • Monday, December 26th, Noon: Feast, St. Stephen, Proto-Martyr. Holy Mass.
  • Tuesday, December 27th, Noon: Feast – St. John Apostle and Evangelist. Holy Mass with blessing and distribution of wine.
  • Wednesday, December 28th, Noon: Commemoration – Holy Innocents. Holy Mass.
  • Saturday, December 31st, Noon: Solemnity of Holy Family. Holy Mass.
  • Sunday, January 1st, 10am and Noon: Solemnity of the Circumcision. Holy Mass.
  • Monday, January 2nd, Noon: Solemnity of the Holy Name of Jesus. Holy Mass.
  • Friday, January 6th, Noon: Solemnity of the Epiphany. Holy Mass with blessing of incense and chalk. Epiphany Home Visitations/KolÄ™dy begin.
  • Sunday, January 8th, 10am and Noon: Solemnity of the Humble Shepherds. Holy Mass.
  • Monday, January 9th, Noon: Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord. Holy Mass.